Man busted on bus in Sussex with 15 kilos of cocaine

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RICHMOND, Va. – A man busted in Virginia carrying a huge shipment of drugs on board a commercial bus pleaded guilty to drug charges related to his role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy.

Lamar Gayle, 34, traveled from Brooklyn, New York to Charleston, South Carolina to pick up 15 kilograms of cocaine from a Panamanian drug trafficking organization (DTO) for domestic distribution, according to law enforcement.

That same day, February 12, 2016, law enforcement intercepted 15 kilograms of cocaine on a commercial boat at the Port of Charleston sent by the Panamanian drug traffickers.

On Feb. 13, 2016, Gayle picked up 15 kilograms of cocaine from a co-conspirator while under surveillance of law enforcement, and upon taking possession of the cocaine; Gayle boarded a commercial bus and traveled to Virginia.

On Feb. 14, 2016, law enforcement executed a drug interdiction operation in Sussex County on the commercial bus on which Gayle was traveling. During the stop of the bus, law enforcement surveillance observed Gayle hide the bag containing the cocaine under a seat inside the bus, and shortly thereafter seized the bag containing the 15 kilograms of cocaine.

Gayle faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on April 28. The cocaine was worth over a quarter-million dollars.